A New Life
by Lizzie Leigh
Summary: ON HIATUS-- Prequal to InuYasha's Match. Tauni was just an almost normal teen suffering through HS in Tokyo. That is until she fell down a well at the Higurashi Shrine, landing herself in Feudal Japan. This is her story. set just b4 InuYasha and Kikyo met
1. Life

Hey everyone Tauni is back for another adventure that explains some of the plot mysteries in InuYasha's Match. Welcome to the prequal: A New Life. It doesn't really matter what order you read these in if you are new to the story so if you wanna wait till I finish this one to move onto InuYasha's Match feel free to do so.

For those of you who are familiar with the story I hope you like this little detour and it lives up to what you have come to expect with my writing.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to review!!!

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own inuyasha, but my established original characters plot lines and writing in general from inuyasha's match and any more I may come up with along the way are definatly MINE!

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Tauni sighed as she walked down the tree lined path on her way to school. She was going to be late again, but frankly she didn't really care. School was so tedious. She hated it. 

The bright young woman was completely unchallenged academically, causing her to be bored out of her mind everyday during all of her classes. But being bored wasn't really why she hated it so much, she could handle being bored. It was the fact that she just didn't seem to fit in that bothered her the most.

You see while she lived in Tokyo, her family was originally from the United States. Her light brown hair, violet eyes, the light dusting of freckles across her face, and her thick accent made it hard for her to just blend in with the crowd. Add to that the fact that she was probably the smartest one in the whole school, and you don't win any popularity contests.

Everyday it was the same thing: get up, go to school, come home, do homework, study, go to bed. Let's face it Tauni's everyday life was extremely mind-numbingly dull. The weekend wasn't much better either.

You'd think that having more money than one person could spend in a lifetime and everything you ever wanted just handed to you would at least make your life interesting. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

True, Tauni could literally do anything her heart desired, but the problem was that lately she was just plain fed up with her life. The only time she was ever really happy was when she slipped away unnoticed from her studies and took one of her horses out to an old prayer house she had found on her property.

The young woman was sure at one point the small structure was a part of the Higurashi shrine next door, but over time she had fixed it up and come to think of it as her own private oasis.

Tauni shifted the weight of her book laden backpack from one shoulder to the other as she reached the end of the path that lead to the Higurashi shrine.

Taking the shortcut through the woods that connected the two properties was a lot faster than following the road and today cutting some time off her commute was a good thing.

As she neared the Higurashi home she couldn't help but wonder if Kagome had left yet. The two girls used to be such good friends and would walk together to school everyday. Tauni missed those times.

Over the past couple of years the two had grown apart, and Tauni regretted not keeping in touch.

Tauni was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw Kagome up ahead. Still too far away to be heard, Tauni picked up her pace hoping to catch up to her old friend. She was puzzled when, instead of heading to the steps leading down to the street, Kagome ran into the well house and pulled the door shut behind her.

Once she was within what she thought was hearing range she called out to Kagome.

"Hey Kagome, wait up! What are you doing in there?"

There was no answer. _Hmm she must not have heard me._

With an extra burst of speed Tauni ran over to the well house and slid open the door.

"Kagome, what on Earth are you doing in…"

Tauni glanced around the well house. Kagome was nowhere to be seen. _That's weird there's no other way out of here, and I'm positive she came in here._

Her violet eyes fell on the old well in the middle of the small room. _She wouldn't have. Would she?_

Cautiously Tauni walked down the steps and peered over the edge into the ancient well.

"Kagome! Are you down there?! … Hello?!"

Tauni couldn't see the bottom of the dark well and she was beginning to get very nervous. "Kagome c'mon. This isn't funny. Are you okay?"

The silence was stifling and Tauni decided the best move would be to head back to the Higurashi house.

When she turned around to head up the stairs and a terrible howling screech echoed in the small building, causing her to stumble backwards and fall into the dark well.

As she fell she saw Buyo's chubby cat face looking down at her with a scowl.

Tauni braced herself for the inevitable impact of the hard well bottom but it never came. She was suddenly engulphed in dark blue swirling lights and then dropped gently on her hands and knees onto the dirt at the bottom.

The shocked teenager stared at the ground under her. _What the heck just happened? Whatever it was it can't be a good thing. Stupid cat scaring the crap out of me and making me fall down here. There's no way I'm gunna get back up this..._

All thought left her mind as she looked up to the top of the well and was greeted by a clear blue sky. There wasn't supposed to be a sky when she looked up, there was supposed to be the inside of a well house.

Dropping her backpack to her feet, Tauni looked at the wall s of the ancient well planning the best way out. Carrying her pack up the vertical climb was not going to be an option, but she wasn't just going to leave her stuff down here. Rifling through the bag's many pockets she finally found what she was looking for.

Since most of her schooldays ended with an exciting run through the woods to get home, Tauni was always sure to carry a first aid kit and a length of rope. The rope was what was going to come in handy this time. After carefully tying one end of the rope to her pack, she secured the other end to her wrist and began the short but challenging climb up the well wall.

With one final push Tauni heaved herself over the edge and once her feet were back on solid ground she pulled up her backpack.

It was only then that she took a look at her surroundings. She was quite litterally in the middle of nowhere. The shrine and the well house were no where in sight and the only thing she could see were trees. Something had definately happened whe she fell down that well and if she ever got back home Kagome had a lot of explaining to do.

In one single moment Tauni's boring life got a whole lot more interesting.


	2. Kikyo and Kaede

Again this is the prequal to InuYasha's Match. It doesn't really matter what order you read these in if you are new to the story so if you wanna wait till I finish this one to move onto InuYasha's Match feel free to do so.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to review!!!

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own inuyasha, but my established original characters plot lines and writing in general from inuyasha's match and any more I may come up with along the way are definatly MINE!

------A picture of what Tauni looks like can be found on my Deviant art page! the link is in my profile, Check it out!------

* * *

Tauni wandered through the woods trying to figure out just where she was. It wasn't long before she spotted a familiar tree through the canopy. It was the huge tree at the Higurashi shrine. Changing direction she headed toward it knowing that once she reached it she was home free. 

A few minutes later the teenager reached the base of the towering tree, but instead of finding the shrine all there was were more trees. Something was definitely not right here. Just where on Earth had that stupid well dumped her?

Back in the direction where Tauni's house would have been, she noticed several streams of smoke rising above the trees.

_Well, where there is smoke there are usually people. Maybe someone there can tell me just where I am._

Tauni finally made it out of the woods and was shocked by the scene being played out before her. It looked as though she had stepped out of the woods and into one of the pictures from her history book.

An ancient looking village was being raided by bandits on horseback. The smoke she had seen through the trees were the roofs of the houses burning. A few people with buckets were doing their best to bring the fires under control but it was no use; the blazes were completely out of control.

The looting bandits were running in and out of houses stealing belongings and terrorizing the occupants.

At the far end of the village there were a few men and a young woman trying desperately to fight off the main group of attackers.

Not one to stand by when people are in danger, Tauni dropped her pack and took off running toward the other end of the village, stopping along the way to pick up a discarded sword.

Tauni stepped into the fight just in time to catch the blade of a bandit right before it struck the young woman from behind. Tauni fended off the bandit with practiced motions and gave the small group the upper hand. Working together the two women and the few men drove back the bandits.

When the leader of the trouble makers called the retreat, Tauni glanced back toward him. The bandit she was fighting took advantage of her distraction and caught her upper right arm with his blade.

Tauni cried out, dropped her sword, and grabbed her wound. Warm sticky blood seeped between her fingers and dripped to the ground.

In the next second, the bandit began advancing on the wounded young woman. Tauni took a step back for every step he took forward, but soon found herself backed up against the wall of one of the small houses.

Knowing his victim was trapped, the bandit raised his sword for the final blow with a sadistic smile.

Tauni squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the blade to strike.

When a few moments passed and nothing happened, Tauni slowly opened her eyes. The bandit was dead at her feet, run through with an arrow.

Tauni looked up and several yards away stood her rescuer. It was the young woman she had saved earlier in the fight. The two women locked eyes and Tauni gave a nod of thanks. The woman returned her nod and turned back to the slowly retreating bandits.

Feeling the effects of the blood loss she suffered from her wound, Tauni leaned back against the wall she had been trapped by and closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision.

Tauni jumped when someone grabbed her hand and attempted to pull her forward. The teen opened her violet eyes and found herself looking down at a girl that had to be no more than 10.

The little girl pulled harder on her arm. "Quickly, come with me."

With a slight nod Tauni followed the little girl into a barn a few yards away from the battle. As soon as they entered the girl swung the door shut and barred it in place to prevent anyone from entering.

Tauni sat down in a pile of hay and moved her hand away from the wound in order get a better look at it. It really wasn't that deep but it was bleeding profusely. The little girl hovered in front of her and looked at the wound.

"Are ye hurt badly?"

Tauni shook her head. "Not too badly, but I have to stop the bleeding. Could you help me with this?"

The girl nodded and helped Tauni rip away what was left of her tattered sleeve. Once the fabric was removed the girl used a small piece of it to clean the large gash and the rest of it to wrap the wound.

Tauni smiled at the young girl. "Thank you."

The girl nodded but looked at Tauni curiously. "Are ye a demon?"

Tauni was shocked. "Why on Earth would you think I was a demon?"

The little girl looked her up and down. "Well, ye are dressed so strangely and your eyes are such an odd color."

Tauni laughed, the girl did have a point. She did look completely out of place compared to everyone else. "Good point. But I'm not a demon; I'm just a normal person."

The young girl looked unconvinced. "Well, if ye are lying Kikyo will be able to tell."

"Who's Kikyo?"

The girl sat down in front of Tauni. "She is my older sister. The village priestess, she is the one that saved ye from that bandit."

_So that woman's name is Kikyo, and she's a priestess. I really did end up in some weird alternate reality or something didn't I?_

"Well I'm going to have to thank your sister. And what's your name?"

The young girl thought for a moment deciding if she would answer. "I am Kaede."

"Well Kaede, it's very nice to meet you. My name is Tauni."

Both girls jumped when someone attempted to open the door. Tauni instinctively pushed the younger girl behind her, and forced herself to her feet in a defensive position.

"Kaede are you in there?"

Kaede smiled and ran to the door. "That is my sister, Kikyo."

Kaede opened the door and Kikyo smiled down at her younger sister. "I'm glad you weren't hurt." Kikyo then turned her attention to the stranger before them. "Are you injured?"

"I'll live."

"Then let me ask you. Why have you come here? Do you seek the shikon no tama?"

Tauni looked at her blankly. "The shikon no whata? I don't even know what that is. I'm… uh… just lost and I saw the smoke through the trees and found my way here. That's all."

Kikyo narrowed her eyes at the stranger but believed what she had said. "Very well you may stay here until you are able to travel."

The priestess turned to leave with Kaede right behind her. She stopped inside the doorway and looked back at the stranger. "Back there. Why did you feel the need to join our battle?"

Tauni shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I couldn't just sit by and watch those men kill everyone and destroy the village. It wouldn't have been right."

Kikyo was satisfied with her answer. "Get some rest. I will send Kaede later with some food and some things to treat your wound."

Without another word the priestess and her younger sibling disappeared around the corner. Tauni sat back down and leaned her head back against the wall.

"Something tells me I'm not in Tokyo any more."


	3. A Close Encounter

Again this is the prequel to InuYasha's Match. It doesn't really matter what order you read these in if you are new to the story so if you want to wait till I finish this one to move onto InuYasha's Match feel free to do so.

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Sorry it's a bit shorter than the others but I didn't want to take away from the drama with more rambling than was necessary so it ended up being short. Next one will be longer I promise.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to review!!!

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own InuYasha, but my established original characters plot lines and writing in general from InuYasha's match and any more I may come up with along the way are definitely MINE!

------A picture of what Tauni looks like can be found on my Deviant art page! The link is in my profile, Check it out!------

* * *

Tauni was drifting off to sleep when she remembered that she ditched her backpack at the other end of the village.

Slowly she pulled herself up and made her way through the huts to the entrance of the village. Her head was killing her and she was still slightly lightheaded from the loss of blood, so every once in a while she would rest against one of the small houses until the ground stopped spinning.

At the entrance of the village her bag was right where she had left it. As the teenager picked up her pack, something glinting in the woods caught her eye. Pulling her bag onto her shoulders, she went into the dark trees to see just what it was.

-----

A pair of beady red eyes followed the young woman's movements through the trees. There was just enough moonlight to illuminate her form against the dark background of the forest. The scent of her blood drifted up to the spider demon that watched her carefully from his perch in one of the trees.

His eyes glowed for a moment and then returned to normal. There was something unique about this girl's presence and that bothered him. Not only was he going to have to deal with the priestess in the village in order to obtain the Shikon Jewel, but this girl posed a threat he hadn't been expecting. For now at least he was just going to have to bide his time and observe how this woman fit into his plans.

-----

Tauni ducked behind a tree when she finally got a good look at what was reflecting the moonlight through the forest. It was a man sitting up against a tree, and the reflection was coming from the metal on his armor. Hoping he hadn't seen her, Tauni took a chance and arched her head around the trunk in order to get a better look.

When she noticed that his eyes were closed, Tauni squinted in the meager light and quickly took in every detail.

The man was dressed mostly in white with what looked like some red detail. On his upper torso he wore battle armor fitted with a silver metal piece that went over one shoulder. Over the other shoulder was a light colored fluffy thing that Tauni could only describe as a furry boa, and around his waist was tied a bright yellow length of fabric that served as a belt.

The man's face was striking to say the least. But his most predominant features were the reddish purple markings on the each side of his face, the deep purple crescent moon on his forehead, and his white silver hair.

Tauni was entranced; she had never come across anyone quite like this man before. Without realizing what she was doing her feet lead her out from her hiding spot and walked right up to him. She was only a few feet away now and from this distance she could see that his ears were pointed and his hands were clawed.

Her heart jumped into her throat in panic when she realized that he must be a demon of some sort. For the second time in the last twenty four hours, Tauni's curiosity had landed her in danger. She took a tentative step backwards and gasped when a twig snapped below her feet.

The young woman froze when the man opened his eyes just the slightest bit. His amber gaze caught Tauni's breath and she was paralyzed by an intense fear. In a blur the strange man was suddenly right in front of her, his claws glowing a sinister green. Tauni didn't make a move or back down. She just stood there frozen. The man's striking eyes bore into Tauni's and she felt as if he could see right through her.

In the next second he was gone.

The adrenaline that had flooded her system mere seconds ago vanished almost as suddenly as the stranger, and Tauni's legs buckled beneath her. Her entire body shook. Remembering to breath she took a huge gulp of air that filled her desperate lungs.

She stared in the direction that the man, no demon, vanished and realized that she had just narrowly avoided an early death at his hands.

Deciding that she had just experienced enough excitement for one night, and probably for the rest of her life, she hurried back to the village. She was almost safely back at the barn when someone stepped out in front of her. Tauni screamed and jumped before she realized it was the priestess Kikyo.

Kikyo narrowed her eyes at the young woman. "What are you doing wandering around the village at this time?"

"I remembered that I left my stuff at the edge of town when I joined the fight and I just went to go get it."

The miko studied her with a wary gaze. "Very well. But it is dangerous and I suggest you get back inside."

Tauni smiled and walked around Kikyo. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Tauni closed the barn doors behind her and barred the door into place. She was extremely exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep.

After making herself a little bed out of the straw, she dumped her books and other stuff out of her backpack, deciding that once she filled it with a bit of straw it would make a decent pillow. Once her bed was ready Tauni grabbed the hoodie she had in her bag, draped it over her bare legs, and within seconds of literally hitting the hay, she was fast asleep.


	4. Back to the Well

So sorry guys for the extremely long wait on this, unfortunately despite all my frequent posting intentions I end up with long waits between chapters sometimes. I really can't apologize enough, but with everything I have going on this summer I can't make any promises that it won't happen again. I'll try to keep it reasonable though. And lots of reveiws may help motivate me to take time to write lol.

Well anyway...

Hope you all enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to review!!!

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own InuYasha, but my established original characters plot lines and writing in general from InuYasha's match and any more I may come up with along the way are definitely MINE!

------Several pictures and a character reference of what Tauni looks like and her general personality traits can be found on my Deviant art page! The link is in my profile, Check it out!------

* * *

Tauni shifted in her sleep only to cause a sharp pain to rush through her body. She turned the other way and inhaled the familiar scent of straw. Groggily, the teenager opened her eyes and was instantly confused when she didn't find herself in her loft with the barn cats curled up around her. 

It took a second before she remembered that she wasn't home. She was stuck in some place, make that some time, far away from everything familiar to her. Tauni jumped and her heart raced when someone knocked on the door. She relaxed when Kaede's voice called through the door.

"Are ye awake yet?"

"I'm awake. Give me a second and I'll open the door."

Tauni pulled herself up from her makeshift bed and walked over to the barred door. Her shoulder was throbbing with a dull pain from rolling over on it, but the rest of her arm was numb.

That was probably a good thing, because she doubted she'd be able to handle any excruciating pain without the Tylenol that was inconveniently missing from her first aid kit. But from another angle it probably wasn't good that she couldn't feel her arm, because that meant the blood wasn't circulating in her arm correctly.

The young woman opened the door for Kaede and the little girl instructed Tauni to follow her to her sister so that Tauni's wound could be treated. It also turned out that the priestess had some more questions to ask the stranger.

Tauni tried not to wince as Kikyo removed the makeshift bandages from the night before and cleaned out the gash.

Kikyo casually began interrogating Tauni as she rinsed out the cloth she was using to clean the girl's wounds in the river.

"Tell me, how is it that you came across our village? It is apparent by your strange clothes and odd eye color that you are not the usual traveler."

The priestess put down the cloth and grabbed the tube Neosporin from Tauni's first aid kit.

"And you have the oddest belongings and medicines."

Tauni wasn't sure whether or not she should confide in this Kikyo. Sure she was the village priestess and the only person Tauni had really talked to besides Kaede, but that didn't necessarily mean she could trust her. But then again, what other choice did the teenager have. She was a stranger in a strange time with no clue how she had even gotten there let alone how to return to her own time.

As Kikyo bandaged up Tauni's arm, the violet eyed young woman told the priestess her short but intriguing tale about how she happened to end up at the feudal era village.

Kikyo sat silently taking in her words. The young woman's story was fantastic to say the least. She was sure that the well Tauni spoke of was the bone eater's well that sat deep in the forest, but the story still puzzled her.

As far as the miko was aware there were never any stories about anything ever coming from that well. The well was used to dispose of demon corpses. The villagers would discard a slain demon down the well and by the next morning the bones would vanish. It did stand to reason that the well could go both ways; that something tossed in from the opposite side could vanish, just like the bones, and end up on her side of the well.

This fact worried the priestess. If this ordinary girl could pass through the well unharmed there was no telling what else may turn up in the forest. Kikyo needed to see this for herself.

Once Kikyo had finished tending to Tauni's wounds and lending her some clothes to wear, she instructed the stranger to show her the well she had climbed out of.

Tauni felt very awkward walking around on one of Kikyo's miko outfits. It definitely wasn't like any of the clothes she was used to wearing. It even felt awkward compared to the hakama and the keikogi she was used to wearing during her Kenjutsu training.

Her Kenjutsu outfit was really light and flexible, but there were too many layers involved with Kikyo's outfit and it felt bulky and hot. The teenager was definitely sweating by the time they reached the well.

Kikyo recognized the well as the bone eater's well. The miko looked over the edge of the wooden frame down into the well. She could just make out the empty bottom of the well through the darkness. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

"Are you positive this is the well that brought you here?"

Tauni nodded and was about to comment when a distant scream cut through the air.

Tauni jumped and turned toward the noise that echoed from the area they had just come from. "Did that come from…"

Kikyo cut her off with a slightly panicked voice. "The village."

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TBC... 


	5. Power Revealed

Yikes this poor story has been neglected! I can't apologize enough. I feel so retarded that I can't seem to keep up with these chapters like I want to.

That being said I'm not sure how frequent the next updates will be but i can promise you that this story will not be forgotten and who knows, maybe some more reviews would put a fire under the updates hint hint lol.

Well no more apologizing begging or stalling here's the next chapter! Don't forget to review!!!

* * *

Tauni, Kikyo, and Kaede rushed back to the village as fast as their feet would carry them. Smoke billowed above the trees, and as they neared the small village screams could be heard over the roar of the flames.

Tauni was frozen by the site that greeted the trio as they arrived at the entrance of the village.

A huge demon was tearing apart what was left of the village. It was bigger than a house and vaguely reminded Tauni of the Chimeras in the Greek mythology book sitting in her library back home.

The demon had the body of a lion, had two curved horns at the top of its head, and a powerful serpent-like tail. It was spitting the fire that was devouring the homes in the village from its mouth with every fierce roar, and Tauni could see its forked tongue flick in and out like a lizard's drinking in the scents around it.

The teenager had never seen anything like it before in person, and she was absolutely terrified.

As if sensing her fear the demon turned to face the three girls that had suddenly appeared from the forest with venom dripping from its fangs.

The thick scent of blood that was hovering over them thanks to Tauni's injuries is what really had grabbed the demon's attention, but then it recognized one of the figures as the village priestess he was after.

"Miko, hand over the Shikon Jewel!"

It's booming voice shook the ground around them almost as badly as its giant footsteps. In less than three strides the demon was nearly on top of them.

Kikyo strung her bow and released an arrow as the demon lunged at them. "Demon be gone!"

Her arrow glowed pink with spiritual power and hit the demon in the shoulder, throwing it backwards.

Kaede quickly scrambled out of the way but Tauni was frozen. Her mind was screaming for her to run, but her body wouldn't move.

The demon recovered quickly and Kikyo shot several more arrows its way. Unfortunately it was ready for them, and avoided them with ease.

Kikyo artfully dodged the gigantic creature as it attacked, but gasped when she realized the other teen hadn't followed her or gotten out of the way.

The demon came to an abrupt stop just in front of Tauni. The wind generated by the sheer mass of the creature as it rushed forward was enough to knock the terrified young woman backwards. She hit the ground with a yelp and stared up in fear at the creature hovering over her.

A growling laugh rumbled in its throat as the demon studied the helpless girl in front of it.

"My, my you're a powerful one aren't you? Too bad you won't have a chance to awaken those powers before I devour you."

Kikyo was slightly taken aback by the demon's words. In the time she had spent with her since yesterday, Kikyo had no sensed anything unique about the girl.

Attempting to draw the demon's focus away from Tauni, Kikyo shot yet another arrow at the beast.

The demon didn't even blink as it knocked away the arrow with a flick of its massive tail.

One thing the arrow did accomplish was knocking Tauni out of her terrified stupor. The pink glow of the arrow brought Tauni back to reality. Sensing the change, the demon lunged forward without further hesitation to devour the young woman before it.

Out of reflex, Tauni threw her arm up over her face and squeezed her eyes shut as she screamed.

Kikyo watched stunned as the demon lunged.

A pulse coursed through the air and a bright blue light engulfed Tauni. As the light dissipated, it revealed a barrier surrounding the violet eyed stranger.

When the demon came in contact with the barrier it was thrown backward with an amazing force.

Kikyo took advantage of the situation and destroyed the demon with one well placed arrow through the heart.

Tauni was still sitting there in the middle of the road stunned by what had just taken place.

Kikyo rushed over to her once she was sure the demon was completely destroyed. "Tauni are you unharmed?"

Tauni stood up and hugged her arms around herself in a futile attempt to stop her body from trembling. "Yeah, I think I am. What the hell was that thing?"

Kikyo looked back over her shoulder at the charred circle of earth that was left of the demon.

"It was a demon that was after the sacred jewel. What puzzles me is his reaction to you, and that barrier you put up. You did not tell me you had the powers of a priestess."

Tauni was confused. "I have no idea what that power was or where it came from. I'm just as surprised as you are about it."

Kikyo was once again suspicious of the violet eyed girl. _How could she have such power and be unaware of it? I had not sensed anything before, but now that she has used it I can feel it pouring off of her. __Its__ extraordinary._

Kikyo was determined to get to the bottom of this. "Well, we will just have to test it and find out just what you can do. Meet me at the well tomorrow morning at sunup."


End file.
